when numbers have nearly doubled. so when the railways were privatised, we had about 750 passenger journeys the railways were privatised, we had about 750 passengerjourneys every year. now it is 1.5 billion and a bit more than that. —— 750 million. it has led to really... that is really interesting. not a factor that has been brought about by the activity of river companies. it is just the fact that people need trains. they like using the devices on trains. there are many more students, people do not like travelling by car. congestion, all those facts. these wonderful private companies, it is not anything to do with them because they don't do much. if you look at the chart, it is quite remarkable. you see a dramatic timing point. as soon as the train companies went into private hands... we sommati —— we see a massive increase in passenger numbers. i will give you an example. in1984, we

numbers. i will give you an example. in 1984, we had about 17journeys per day between london and manchester. now we have 47. we have the busiest train lines in europe. about 20% more journeys than france, 60% more than germany. about 20% more journeys than france, 6096 more than germany. that is a response to demand. british rail tailored its demands and services accordingly in the same way. this is not actually a fact that you can point to to say, it is because it is private and it has done better. it is nearly gone —— merely grown because of endogenous factors. is nearly gone —— merely grown because of endogenous factorsm terms of the practicalities of this, people may come to this neutral and say, i can remember what british ra i lwa ys say, i can remember what british railways were like, i know what the ra i lwa ys railways were like, i know what the railways are like now. if i am a southern rail customer, i might not like the fact that there have been so like the fact that there have been so many strikes and so much disruption. i might then ask a

question of, if the labour party is so question of, if the labour party is so close to the trade unions, why do i think they would be more likely to see fewer strikes, fewer industrial actions of that kind, if it was a national ice centre is, than the current one? i don't think trade union activity is relevant at all. can run, it is relevant if you have had most of yourjourneys disrupted for last year, isn't it? that has huge economic consequences. can you convince people would be better?|j think convince people would be better?” think it is down to management. you think it is down to management. you think public sector management would be better? it can be good and bad sometimes. since 2015... southern rail isa sometimes. since 2015... southern rail is a private franchise. it is in the same way that aviva runs tfl. they can push through driver

operated trains and the timetables and railway fares. we can see more railway strike. we sought in the 19705 railway strike. we sought in the 1970s with every nationalised industry got non—striker a weekly basis, almost. -- going on strike. i have talked to a lot of british rail managers about this and they say that the way that southern went about it was confrontational, aggressive and inevitably lead to the strikes. we have a regulated railway service at the moment. i just wonder why you think state control with ministers more directly accountable would be more effective than the current system. at the moment, the department for transport is the only thing between the private companies and the government. it is actually run quite a lot... the labour party wouldn't

be huge dating a separate body, a bit like separate —— would envisage crating a separate body, bit like british rail. i know that this could run and run, thank you for your time. the headlines on bbc news... the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, says the party's election manifesto includes policies that "would transform the lives of many people". president trump has called sacked fbi directorjames comey a "showboat" and "grandstander", saying he would have dismissed him even if officials had not recommended it. an analysis of nhs data suggests waiting times in england are at their worst level in five yea rs. more details are emerging of the extraordinary sacking of the director of the fbi,

james comey. president trump has just called mr comey a "showboat," and says he was determined to fire the director anyway, whatever thejustice department recommended. mr trump has also reasserted the claim that mr comey told him three times that he personally wasn't under investigation over ties to russia. mr trump made those comments in a just—released interview with nbc. he isa he is a showboat, a grandstand. the fbi has been in turmoil. you know that, i know that, everyone knows that. you take a look at the fbi a year ago. it was in virtual turmoil. less tha n year ago. it was in virtual turmoil. less than a year ago. it has not recovered from that. on monday, you met with the deputy attorney general. did you ask for a recommendation? what i did is, i was gone to fire... my decision. you made that decision before they came in the room? i was going to fire comey. young people who are hiv positive now have near—normal life expectancy because of improvements in treatment, according to a study by researchers bristol university. they found that 20—year—olds who started anti—retroviral therapy in 2010 are projected to live ten years longer than those who first used it in 1996.

more details from our health correspondent, jane dreaper. voiceover: it is a deadly disease, and there is no known cure. doom—laden government adverts in the 19805 warned about the dangers of the virus behind aids, and urged us not to die of ignorance. if you ignore aids, it could be the death of you. jonathan learned he was hiv positive in 1982. he didn't expect to be alive all these years later. now 67, he's enjoying a healthy and happy retirement. i never thought that iwould hit 40, 50, 60. and to be a pensioner...is amazing. i have been very, very fortunate. medicine which stops hiv reproducing has helped jonathan and millions of others. these anti—retroviral drugs became widely available in the uk two decades ago. researchers from bristol say

a 20—year—old man who started hiv treatment in recent years should now live until the age of 73, and a woman should now reach 76 — close to the average. we expected drug resistance to be a huge problem and it hasn't been. and it can be contained because of the multiple options. we expected the drugs would be toxic and there might be an epidemic of heart disease untreated individuals. that hasn't turned out to be the case. and we've now arrived at a situation where, unexpectedly, the message is clear — everybody should be treated as soon as they are diagnosed, as early as possible in the course of their infection, and the outcomes are absolutely excellent. it's hoped the findings will encourage anyone at risk of hiv to get tested for the virus. the charity terrence higgins trust says this research is great news, although some people are still unaware they have hiv, and this means they're missing out on the treatment which will help them stay healthy into old age. jane dreaper, bbc news. let's get more on the

warning from the bank of england about inflation. it says the impact of the fall in the pound after the brexit vote is already starting to force prices up. it also said that growth in wages was weak. this came as it kept interest rates on hold once again. well, we can speak now to charles read, who's the online business editor for the economist. thank you for being with us. let's first look at the exchange rate. the bank is pointing to the impact of the brexit vote lastjune. but is it fairto the brexit vote lastjune. but is it fair to say that the pound was already weakening even before that, and perhaps it just already weakening even before that, and perhaps itjust added to the effect? or was it something that really co m es effect? or was it something that really comes from the foot? it was weakening before the referendum because britain was going to vote to leave the eu. —— this fears that britain. the polls were not clearly

showing a remain vote and it is continuing now. so is this tied into all the discussions, p arguments, the rows we have seen about the fact the rows we have seen about the fact the negotiation process will take a couple of years? yes, exactly. the value of the pound fell a fifth, 15-20%, value of the pound fell a fifth, 15—20%, only delay after the referendum. since it has fluctuated from wonderwall —— $1.20 to the pound to much less. if the markets think britain is likely to get a deal and it will be a softer brexit, we will see the pound appreciate. the more that we see, there are signs that there is not going to be a deal or britain will get a very bad deal, some people would call it, the pound will fall. just the result. clearly bad

news for exporters, where goods will be more expensive in terms of foreign customers buying them. inevitably, it sucks in imports because we can bite stuff from abroad cheaper,. other things we bias consumers. —— and all the things we bias consumers. but what about the rise in inflation? is it crating a perfect economic storm, or as the bank confident about our ability to ameliorate the effects and get through any nastiness? ability to ameliorate the effects and get through any nastiness7m economic theory, basic economic theory, a reduction in the value of theory, a reduction in the value of the pound makes british exports cheaper and therefore you get an increase in value. however, today, there were very poor industrial production statistics. this is partly because warm weather meant that britain was selling less gas to consumers. there is less electricity being produced to fuel leaders. however, what is interesting is that

manufacturing is also affected. we should see a big manufacturing boom because the value of the pound fell. instead, what has happened is that british exports have not done very well because people around the world and not by british goods, because the cheap. —— british goods because they are cheap. they buy them because they are good quality. so we don't necessarily get a good bonus? we don't get that great of a bonus. we don't get that great of a bonus. we get a lot of inflation from imports. the value of british imports. the value of british imports in sterling terms call up. that means retailers have to pay more to import goods and prices go up more to import goods and prices go up in the shop. in short, we don't get the benefit of the weaker pound but we do get the downsides of the wea ker but we do get the downsides of the weaker pound. that is how our economy has been structured. final question, briefly, if you can. inflation, how big the problem will it be in the next year? look at what has happened since the referendum.

britain has had basically flat prices going into the brexit referendum. no inflation has risen to more or less 2%, it might increase to as much as the— 4% in the next two years. —— 3—4%. this has caused wages to start to fall for the first time since 2014. so, bad news. wages are being outstripped by price rises. thank you for that. fascinating stuff. let's ta ke let's take a look at something even more fascinating in the immediate impact.j more fascinating in the immediate impact. j winners at the —— over to the weather map. it has been a decent start for the northern half of the uk. further south, showers into the area and dragging in a from quite how we save. it is quite warm, humid, continental air drifting into parts of england and wales. the satellite sequence shows it was a

lovely day for many northern areas. further south, the shower cloud moves through. we have seen some rumbles of father... finder in the south—west. there will be wetter weather scraping its way into the south—eastern nxt is. leading up into the midlands. and into northern ireland, some rain here by the end of the night. not so in northern england and northern scotland. low cloud in the east side of scotland and north east of england. it amounts else is here but 12 and 13 first thing in the morning in wales. and central and southern bus of england. it is not a cold night by any means but a lot of cloud and this guy first thing. they will be scattered showers dotted around and if you're lucky some breaks in the cloud, but generally cloudy with scattered showers. northern england, low cloud in the north—east but brighter in the north—west. in northern ireland, rather dull and damp start of the day. opposite on the western side of scotland. it is lovely in the sunshine. it is quite breezy in the eastern side of scotland. we keep that contract across scotland with some warmth,

although pretty chilly and the eastern side. elsewhere, a lot of cloud and this guy and a good scattering of showers. some of those are heavy with the odd rumble of thunder and some sunshine at times. it is still quite warm and unit across much of england and we are. 17 or 18 across much of england and we are. 17 or18 in across much of england and we are. 17 or 18 in stornoway. yet as the beacon. not a wash—out by any means but good spells of sunshine. there'll also be showers dotted around and as we head into sunday, you'll notice things are a good deal fresher. meanwhile, saturday, not too many showers in the midlands and south east. most found further west end particularly in the north—west. still quite humid in parts of england and wales. on saturday night, one weather system brings rain to most parts of the uk. behind that, the fresher air comes in for sunday. sunday is a day of sunny spells and showers. still 15—19dc but with lord humidity as well. a

better feel to things as we head to the second part of the weekend. if you need more details, there is with plenty online. —— always plenty. hello and welcome to one hundred days plus. president trump calls james comey a showboat and a grandstander. he says he decided to fire the former fbi director, even before meeting his top staff. the white house says mr comey had lost the confidence of the fbi staff. the acting director tells the senate that's simply not true. simply put, sir, you cannot stop the men and women of the fbi from doing the right thing, protecting the american people and defending the constitution. the labour party leaks — a month before the election their manifesto is leaked. we look at what it tells us about the party's platform. and, we're in alaska, where the ice is getting thinner, summers are getting longer, and climate change is far from just a political debate.